All Stories

Paths cutting through the forest make ancient fields visible

mayan

Found: Massive, Ancient Maya Farms

The fields offer insights into historic trade routes.

Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras moved to Budapest for a year in 2007.

first journey

My First Journey: Atlas Obscura Co-Founder Dylan Thuras's Eastern European Adventure

"That context, that deeper understanding, it stays with you."

Atlas Obscura co-founder Josh Foer spent two months driving across the United States when he was 19 years old.

first journey

My First Journey: Atlas Obscura Co-Founder Josh Foer's Great American Road Trip

"The most important experience of my life in terms of shaping who I am."

You should probably make this ridiculously stunning Grauvieh picture the background of whatever device you’re reading this article on.

livestock

Around the World in 105 Cows

A book of bovine beauty shots seeks to revive the human-cattle bond.

In an image from James Skinner's book on life in India, a surgeon works on the leg of a patient as he takes opium.

persia

Centuries of Persian Manuscripts, Now at Your Fingertips

A deep, cosmopolitan archive appears online for the first time.

Space10 is located in Copenhagen's fashionable Meatpacking District.

future

Inside IKEA’s Laboratory of Futuristic Foods

Assemble and enjoy bug burgers, mealworm meatballs, and algae hot dogs.

Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun was a renowned supporter of the sciences.

manuscripts

3 Brothers From Baghdad and Their Remarkable 9th-Century Book of Inventions

A prescient relic of the Islamic Golden Age.

Felicia on the job.

physics

Why Physicists Tried to Put a Ferret in a Particle Accelerator

Felicia had a job to do.

The text on the bulla reads, "LeNathan-Melech Eved HaMelech."

judaism

Found: A Seal That May Have Belonged to a Biblical Courtier

If you know of another Nathan-Melech, this is your chance to speak up.

Those insane local commercials that you just can't forget can become an important part of a city's culture.

advertising

21 Classic Television Ads That Locals Will Always Remember

No matter where you grew up, odds are there's a TV spot that defined your metro area.

Things weren't so pretty underground. A colossal fatberg snaked roughly 210 feet through a sewer pipe near the shore of Sidmouth.

fatberg

A Pretty, Seaside Town in England Vanquished Its Giant Fatberg

It took several weeks, protective masks, and elbow grease. Oh, and also pickaxes.

Olive and banana trees stand tall over broad bean fields.

dessert

The Moroccan Food Forest That Inspired an Agricultural Revolution

These ancient forest gardens may be more relevant than ever.

The floral-etched toe of the baby boot.

shoes

Found: A Fancy Baby Boot From the 14th Century

Archaeologists in Switzerland unearthed a fragment of a very small shoe.

This almanac was produced in Paris in the mid-1780s.

bibliomania

For Centuries, Know-It-Alls Carried Beautiful Miniature Almanacs Wherever They Went

The small, ornate tomes were big status symbols.

Subway cars set sail on a barge in "Weeks 297, 2008."

sea burial

Photographing the New York City Subway Cars That Retired as Artificial Reefs

How Stephen Mallon captured this unusual voyage to the bottom of the ocean.

Stromboli emits yet another tiny gurgle of lava.

balloons

This Erupting Italian Peak Is a Hotspot for Studying Volcanic Lightning

Though not much to see, Mount Stromboli is a scientist’s dream.

This panorama, captured in January 2017, looks out at higher reaches of Mount Sharp.

mars

Why Does This Picture From Mars Look Like a Riverbed on Earth?

A familiar sight, millions of miles away.

Farmers still use the same techniques developed 2,000 years ago.

travel writing

The Egyptian Egg Ovens Considered More Wondrous Than the Pyramids

A hatching system devised 2,000 years ago is still in use in rural Egypt.